Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Alliance

I fell into a nightmare, waking up from time to time, only to feel that greater horrors awaited me.All the painful things, mine and other people's, unfolded before my eyes and convinced me it was real.Every time I wake up, I think, "It's finally over", but this is just the beginning of a new torture, how many more ways do I have to see Prim die?How many times did you experience your dad's last moments before he died?How many times have you felt torn apart?This is bee venom, an elaborate weapon that implants fear in the human brain. When my consciousness gradually recovered, I still lay quietly, waiting for the next terrible memory to hit me, but finally, I felt that the bad effects of the bee venom had slowly disappeared, and my body was extremely tired and weak.I lay on my back, maintaining the fetal position, and raised my hands to my eyes. I could see that the ants didn't exist, and they didn't touch my eyes.It took so much effort just to stretch my limbs, my whole body - every part of my body - was in excruciating pain, and I sat up slowly, slowly.I was lying in a shallow pit just now, and instead of the hallucinated orange-red bubbles, there was a pile of fallen leaves.My clothes were very wet, whether it was the pond water, or the dew, or the rain, or sweat.For a long time, all I could do was sip the water in the bottle and watch a bee fly among the honeysuckle bushes beside me.

How long have I been confused?I lost normal consciousness this morning, and now it's afternoon, but the stiff joints feel like more than one day has passed, maybe even two.That said, I have no way of knowing exactly how many pros have been stung by tracker bees.Besides Grimmer and the girls from District 4, there are boys from District 1, a boy and a girl from District 2, and Peeta.Did they die from bee venom too?Of course, if they were still alive, the first two days must have been as horrible as my situation.How is Lulu?She's so small it doesn't take a lot of bee venom to kill her.But... the tracker bee probably wouldn't sting her because she was in a good position.

My mouth was filled with the stench of rot, and drinking water didn't help.I climbed to the honeysuckle bushes, picked a flower, gently pulled out the stamen, and dripped the nectar on my tongue.The sweet taste spread out in my mouth and down my throat, and it brought me back to fond memories of summer, the jungle and Gale back home, and the words we said the morning of our parting. "Honestly, we can do it." "what?" "Get out of District 12. Run away. Live in the woods, just you and me, we can do it." Suddenly, my mind was not with Gale, but with Peeta.Peeta...! "He saved my life!" I thought to myself.When we met, I didn't know what was real and what was an illusion caused by bee venom.But what if he really saved me?My gut tells me this is true.But why?Was it the angel he himself talked about in a TV interview?Or just to protect me?If yes, then how did he hang out with those people?All explanations fail.

I wonder what Gail would do if the same thing happened to him?Then I dropped the idea, because Gale and Peeta had no comparison in my mind. I also remembered the best thing after entering the arena, and that is the bow and arrow!I counted them, and counting the one pulled from the tree, there were a total of twelve arrows.There was no green venom from Grimmer on the arrow. I think it must be an illusion.But there is a lot of blood on the arrow, I can wash it off later.I shot a few arrows into the nearby woods, and it felt more similar to the one in the arena than the one I had at home.Who cares?You can use it.

With weapons, the situation has also changed. I still have many powerful opponents, but at this time I am no longer a prey that can only hide and run desperately. If Cato comes out of the woods now, I will not run away. I'll shoot an arrow at him.In fact, I was waiting for this happy moment to come. However, I need to recover my strength first. My body is severely dehydrated, and the water in the bottle is about to run out.The few pounds I gained from eating and drinking in the Capitol before the race are now gone.My hip bones and ribs stand out even more than they did during the hard days when Dad died, and I'm covered in injuries—burns, cuts, bruises from hitting a tree, venom from a wasp sting.The poisonous sac was more swollen and painful than before. I used ointment to treat the burns and picked it up, but it didn't work much.Mom knew about the cure for the poison pack, an herb that sucked the venom out, but it was rarely used, and I couldn't even remember the name of the herb, let alone what it looked like.

"Water first," I thought, "and then I can hunt as I go." It was easy to tell which direction I was walking from the grass I trampled as I shambled past, so I headed the other way, hoping my opponent would The bee venom is still in effect. I can't walk fast, and my joints hurt when I move violently, so I used the usual method of walking slowly when hunting.In a few minutes I found a rabbit and shot it with an arrow.The arrow didn't go through the rabbit's eye as cleanly as usual, but that was okay.After walking for about an hour, I found a small stream, shallow but wide enough for me.The sun was hot, and while disinfecting the water, I took off my coat and waded into the slow stream.I was so dirty that I splashed the water on my body to wash off the dirt, and finally just lay in the water for a few minutes, letting the stream wash away the smoke, blood and dead skin from my burns.I then washed and washed the clothes, and then hung them to dry in the bushes.I sat on the sunny shore and unraveled the braids with my hands.My stomach growled again, I ate a few biscuits and a little beef, and grabbed a handful of moss to wash the blood off my silver bow.

With my spirits up now, I treated the burn, combed my hair, and put on my damp clothes—the sun will dry it out in a few moments.Now going down the stream seems the smartest thing to do, I'm heading up the hill, which is my preferred direction.I will drink from the brook, and so will the prey.I soon got another bird that looked like a turkey, and it looked edible.In the evening, I prepare to light a fire to barbecue, and it is easy to hide the smoke at dusk. At night, I put out the fire.I slaughtered and cleaned the game and was very careful with the bird, but it looked fine, about the size of a chicken when plucked, only with fatter, firmer flesh.I put the meat on the fire and suddenly heard the crackling of the young branches.

I reacted quickly, and immediately turned to the direction of the sound, and put the bow and arrow on my back.No one, at least I didn't see anyone, and then I saw the toe of a kid's boot poking out from behind a tree.I immediately relaxed and grinned.It's fair to say that she can move through the woods like a shadow, otherwise how could she have followed me?I couldn't help but say: "You know, they're not the only ones who can band together," I said. For a moment, there was no response, then Lulu peeked out one eye from behind the tree trunk. "You want to unite with me?"

"Why not? Your stalkers saved me, you're alive to prove that you're smart, and it's like I can't get rid of you," I said. She blinked at me, hesitating what to do. "Are you hungry?" I saw her swallowing desperately, her eyes fixed on the meat, "Come on, I caught two prey today." Lulu stepped out from behind the tree cautiously, "I can cure your sting." "Can you? How to cure?" I asked. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a handful of leaves.I'm almost sure it's the kind my mom used to use. "Where did you find it?"

"It's around here. We always take this with us when we go to the orchard. There are a lot of beehives there. There are also a lot here." Lulu said. "Yeah, you're from District 11, the farming area," I said, "orchard, huh? So you're flying around the trees like you've got wings." Lulu laughed and I said something that made her proud. "Here, come here and help me fix it." I plopped down on the floor and rolled up my trousers, exposing the stings on my knees.To my surprise, Lulu put the herb in her mouth and started chewing.Mom usually uses other methods, but we don't seem to have many methods.After about a minute, Lulu spit out the chewed green herb and applied it to my wound.

"Oh..." I couldn't help shouting, and the herbal medicine evoked severe pain again. Lulu giggled. "Fortunately, you were sober at the time and pulled out the stinger, otherwise it would have been much more powerful!" "Apply medicine to my neck and face!" I almost begged her. Lulu chewed another handful of herbs and applied it on me. After a while, my frown relaxed, because the sting was much more comfortable now.I found a large burn on Lulu's forearm. "I have something for this." I put the bow and arrow aside and rub the ointment on her arm. "Your patron is very kind." She said enviously. "Did you get the sponsorship?" I asked.She shook her head. "There will be. Look, the later the game goes, the more people will know how smart you are." After finishing speaking, I turned around and went to get the meat. "You want to unite with me, aren't you kidding?" "No, I mean it," I said.Haymitch must have resented being associated with such a delicate kid, I can imagine.But I am willing to unite with her, she is a person who has survived in a dangerous environment, I trust her, besides, why not admit it?She reminds me of Prim. "Okay," she said, holding out her hand, and we shook hands. "That `s a deal!" Of course, this kind of agreement can only be temporary, but neither of us mentioned this. Lulu also found us some root plants to accompany our meal, the kind that smell sweet of parsnips when roasted over the fire.She also knew the bird, which was called a toucan in her area, and she said that sometimes it flew to the orchard in flocks, so they could have a good meal.We both had our stomachs full and didn't talk for a while.The meat of the toucan is very fragrant, and there is a lot of oil, and the oil flows out from the corner of the mouth when it is chewed. "Oh," Lulu said with a sigh, "I've never eaten a whole leg before." I think so, and dare I say she doesn't even eat meat at all. "Eat that one too," I said. "Really?" she asked. "You can eat as much as you want. Now we have bows and arrows, and we can shoot more. I will also play tricks, and I will teach you how to do it." I said. Lulu still looked at the leg hesitantly. "Oh, take it," I said, putting the bird's leg in her hand. "This can only be kept for a few days, and besides, we still have a whole bird and rabbit." As soon as the bird's leg was in her hand, she took a big bite, and it seemed that she was hungry. "I was thinking, in your eleventh district, your food must be slightly more than ours. You know, your district grows food." I said.Lulu opened her eyes wide. "Oh no, we're not allowed to eat what we harvest." "Will you be arrested? Or something?" I asked. "You will be whipped in public," Lulu said. "The mayor is especially strict." I could tell from her expression that this happened a lot.Public whippings are rare in District 12, though they do happen on occasion.So Gail and I get whipped every day for poaching in the woods, and I get more; but the officials eat and buy meat; and besides, our mayor, March's Dad, not interested in such things.Being the most obscure, poorest, and most ridiculed district in the country, perhaps, had its advantages, as long as we met our production quotas, the Capitol would leave us alone. "Do you have enough coal to burn?" Lulu asked. "Not enough," I said, "we burn coal we buy ourselves or carry from our boots." "We eat a little more during the harvest season, so everyone can last longer." Lulu said. "Do you go to school?" I asked. "It's not the harvest season, everyone has to work." Lulu said. It was interesting to hear her talk about it.We don't communicate very much with players from other divisions, in fact, I think the tournament organizers deliberately prevent communication between us, even if some information is harmless, they don't want players from different divisions to know each other. Lulu suggested that we have a plan for all our meals.She has seen most of my food, plus a few biscuits and some beef, and she has picked a lot of roots, nuts, wild vegetables, and even some berries.I picked up an unfamiliar berry and asked, "Are you sure this is edible?" "Oh yes, we have it back home and I've been eating it for days," she said, putting a handful of berries into her mouth.I carefully took a bite, and it tasted similar to the blackberry we usually eat.Joining Lulu always looks good.We divided our meals in case we were separated and we had days to plan.Lulu also has a leather water bottle, homemade slingshot and a pair of socks.Another sharp stone was used as a knife. "I know I don't have much," she said, as if embarrassed, "but then I'll have to run from the Horn of Zeus." "You did the right thing," I said.I dumped mine out too, and her eyes widened when she saw the sunglasses. "Where did you get this?" she asked. "It's in my backpack. I haven't used it so far. It can't block the sun, so people can't see things clearly." I shrugged and said. "It's not for blocking the sun, it's for use at night." Lulu yelled, "Sometimes, when we harvest at night, someone sends a few copies to those who climb to the top of the tree, so they can see where the torch can't reach. Once , a boy named Martin wanted the glasses, hid them in his pocket, and he was killed on the spot." "Killed the boy because of the glasses?" I said. "Yeah, everyone knows he's not dangerous, I mean, Martin's out of his mind, he's like a three-year-old. He just wants those glasses to play with," Lulu said. Hearing her say that made me think District 12 was a safe haven.Sure, people are always hungry, but I can't imagine the vigilantes in District 12 killing a simple child.There is a little girl, the granddaughter of Gracey Sey, who plays in the black market. She is a little demented, but everyone regards her as a cute little girl, and often throws some delicious or amusing things to her. "Then how do you use these glasses?" I asked Lulu holding the glasses. "Put on glasses and you can see in the dark." Lulu said, "You can try it after the sun goes down tonight." I gave Lulu some matches and she gave me some herbs to use when the stings hurt.We put out the fire and went up the stream, not stopping until dark. "Where do you sleep?" I asked her, "in a tree?" She nodded. "Just sleeping in a jacket?" Lulu held up her sock, "I put this on my hand." I thought about how cold the first few nights had been. "You can share the sleeping bag with me if you want, it fits perfectly between the two of us." There was light in Lulu's eyes, and it could be seen that she had never dared to think about it before. We picked the branch, and then the national anthem played, no one died today. "Lulu, I just woke up this morning. How many people did I miss?" The national anthem should cover my voice, but I whispered it anyway, even covering my mouth.I don't want the audience to know what I'm going to tell her about Peeta.Lulu also understood, and became more careful when speaking. "Two," she said. "The girls from District One and District Four are dead. There are ten left." "It's weird, at least that's what I think, maybe the venom from the tracker bee is doing the trick," I said. "You know Peeta the boy from our district? He saved my life, but he's with That gang of pros hangs out." "He's not with them now, I scouted their camp by the lake and they came back there after being attacked by stalker bees, but he wasn't there, maybe he did save you and ran away." I said nothing.If Peeta did save me, I owe him another debt, which I can't repay now. "If he does that, it's acting, you know, making people think he loves me." "Oh, I don't think that's acting." "Of course," I said, "he came up with it with my advisor." The national anthem ended and the sky darkened again. "Let's try these glasses." I took out my glasses and put them on, Lulu didn't lie to me, I could see the leaves on the trees, the skunk prowling in the bushes fifty feet away, and I could hit it now if I wanted to can kill anyone. "Those professional players have two pairs of glasses, and their things are all by the lake." Lulu said, "They are all strong and strong." "We're not easy to mess with," I said, "we all have different strengths." "You are wonderful, you can shoot an arrow," she said, "and what can I do?" "Can you find food yourself, can they?" I asked. "They don't need it, they have enough to eat." Lulu said. "If they didn't, if their supplies were lost, how long would they last?" I said. "I mean, the Hunger Games are also a test of self-survival, aren't they?" "But Katniss, they won't starve," Lulu said. "Yeah, they're not hungry, that's the problem." I agreed.For the first time, I began to develop a plan in my mind, a plan of attack, not a plan of running and dodging. "I think we need to think about it, Lulu."